The Virgin and the Christ Child seated on clouds
Original title: The Virgin and the Christ Child seated on clouds
kurzbeschreibung
Mary with the Christ Child, surrounded by angels and resting on clouds, is the subject of this engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi. It was made between about 1500 and 1534 and cut in copper.
Description
Mary sits at the center, settled on clouds, a halo around her head and a long robe falling in folds. The Christ Child has taken his place on her left leg and looks downward. Winged angels hover through the air on every side of the pair. The layout feels balanced, mother and child forming the still point around which everything else is arranged.
Context
Raimondi, an Italian engraver of the Renaissance, became known above all for his reproductions after Raphael. He worked in Rome between 1500 and 1534, circulating religious subjects for the art market, and this print belongs to that period.
Impact
The even arrangement and delicate lines give the sheet a quiet, calm presence. Light falls evenly, with no strong shadows, which lends the subject something clear and almost idealized.
Technique
Engraving means cutting the image into a copper plate and then printing it onto paper. Finely graded lines and a clearly ordered figure arrangement mark Raimondi's hand.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)